Following the Board of Trustees’ decision on April 12 not to change the statement on human sexuality, ASSP alongside many students, staff, alumni, and faculty members have listed the following sanctions if the board does not abolish the statement by May 1. 

1. A coalition of current students, alumni, community members, staff, and faculty that will pledge to abstain from donating any money to the University at any point.
2. An alumni coalition dedicated to reducing enrollment rates will be set into motion.
3. Severing community ties with local businesses and various influential partners such as the Seattle Storm.
4. Media outlets will be informed if demands are not met, and continued conversations revealing the injustice at SPU will be published on a national scale.
5. An alumni coalition dedicated to discouraging donations will work against every upcoming SPU fundraising event.
6. A campaign for students to take a leave of absence Fall 2021 will begin, thus reducing retention rates
7. Local representatives will be notified and encouraged to publicly condemn the University

According to ASSP President José Flores, many of these actions are already in motion.

“We had to come up with an ultimatum prior to the Board making a decision, so essentially we transformed the ultimatum to be an action list of what ASSP is going to do in conjunction with faculty, alumni and current students.” said Flores. “That’s where we’re at, so if the Board does not reach the May 1st deadline, we’re already working to hit the ground running so when May 1st hits, we’re already targeting every specific spot.”

Flores also said that the alumni coalition is already formed and is continuing to expand its membership and that other ASSP actions are already being prepared for the May 1 deadline. 

On Thursday, the commitment to withhold donations was the first sanction publicly announced and shared by students, alumni, and ASSP members.

Upcoming ASSP President and current Vice President of Intercultural Affairs Laur Lugos gave a statement about the withholding of donations in an interview on Thursday. 

“The commitment to withhold donations is an act of protest on the statement on human sexuality, and until the Board chooses to change the statement, we are going to be collecting names who are going to commit to not donating to SPU.” said Lugos. “We understand that one of the factors that is contributing to this decision is that there’s a financial incentive to remain conservative so that there will be conservative donors, but we want to show the board that they are missing out on a lot of donations from people that don’t stand by SPU’s current statement on human sexuality.”

The statement and a list of donors that are withholding donations can be found here. The form also  provides a link for any potential donors who would like to add their name to the list. 

Upcoming Executive Vice President Ciarra Choe has been involved in organizing part of the response to the Board’s decisions, and says that these sanctions go beyond changing the Board’s mind.

“At this point it’s not about appealing to the moral or spiritual views of the Board of Trustees. For years we’ve tried to change their minds, and while a lot of us want to do that, it really does come down to finances and money.” said Choe. “Many still hope they can change their mind, but our community is speaking up and pushing for what it wants.”